Posted 8 years ago
cshapiro
(177 items)
The Chinese used soapstone for so many carvings, so it's really surprising how few soapstone bottles are out there.
This bottle appears to have been carved in great detail (I can still see it on the face of the scholar on the rock) but the carving has worn away in most places with years of handling and use.
It's very well hollowed and has a genuine pearl stopper!
Very unusual I have never seen a soap stone one before
Yes master, they are really uncommon.
I don't think it is soamstone... The crackles in enlarged pics 2 and 4 make me think of amber...
Is it lightweighted for its size?
Ooops soapstone, not soamstone, lol!
Some eye candies there:
http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/2014/snuff-bottles-from-mary-george-bloch-collection-part-iv-hk0524.html
kyratango that had not occurred to me! I will do a specific gravity test and be more inquisitive because I just assumed it was soapstone.
$_3.JPG (500×394)
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/Mzk0WDUwMA==/z/G5YAAOxycmBS-pAl/_3.JPG?set_id=2
This is described as a chinese butterscotch amber piece :-)
Ha... dead link...
Something like that:
30.9 g RARE EGG YOLK Baltic Amber Natural Butterscotch Antique raw rough stone
http://balticamberstone.info/30_9_g_rare_egg_yolk_baltic_amber_natural_butterscotch_antique_raw_rough_stone.htm
Well, it is soapstone! The specific gravity is 2.72. Soapstone is comprised mainly of talc which has a specific gravity of 2.75 so that plus the way the carving of the stone is so worn make me come to that conclusion.
Hum, the chippings on edge of the hole deserve to be examined with a strong magnifier, they don't have a stone's chip look for me.
Kyratango - take a look at this page. It's quartzite which was once sandstone, but heat and pressure changed it by fusing the grains of sand to each other, making it much harder. http://thehappyscientist.com/content/review-rocks-4
Thanks for the interesting link! Colors are similar, but not hardness and texture, how much I'd love to have your bottle in hand to "feel" it :-))
thanks for your help indentifying the bottle kyratango! You made me question and look further